7-11 Japan
What are some different ways that a convenience store supply chain can be responsive?
A convenience store can be more responsive by doing a variety of things. The stores can model what 7-11 did and have a variety of different locations with rapid replenishment. They can offer a variety of different services, such as a way to pay bills like electricity, gas, insurance, and telephone inside the store. They can also provide other services such as ski lift voucher pass, payment for mail order purchases, payment for online shopping, and even a meal delivery service. The store can also create a membership program. Allowing them to understand buying habits of its customers and foresee trends in product demands. Upgrading technology can also make the convenience store more responsive. They can do that by having POS registers that allow extra information to be inputted along with simple transactional information, to graphic order terminals that update store quantities and orders; these automation efforts also reduce the chances of human error. The convenience stores can also adopt a Centralized Distribution Center model, which allows for a more efficient system that can (ideally) service more than one outlet. The reduction in transportation costs become direct savings to the owners, unlike product savings (that run through the production and sales process leading to a few %).
Seven-Eleven’s supply chain strategy in Japan can be described as attempting to micro-match supply and demand using rapid replenishment. What are some risks associated with this?
Micro-matching supply and demand using rapid replenishment has plenty of risk associated with it. It assumes each store will have the same demand pattern on a daily basis. If there is a sudden rush of unexpected customers and they buy up all of a single type of product it will cause difficulty for regular customers who buy that product. During such an event, the store will most likely run out of stock and customers may
A convenience store can be more responsive by doing a variety of things. The stores can model what 7-11 did and have a variety of different locations with rapid replenishment. They can offer a variety of different services, such as a way to pay bills like electricity, gas, insurance, and telephone inside the store. They can also provide other services such as ski lift voucher pass, payment for mail order purchases, payment for online shopping, and even a meal delivery service. The store can also create a membership program. Allowing them to understand buying habits of its customers and foresee trends in product demands. Upgrading technology can also make the convenience store more responsive. They can do that by having POS registers that allow extra information to be inputted along with simple transactional information, to graphic order terminals that update store quantities and orders; these automation efforts also reduce the chances of human error. The convenience stores can also adopt a Centralized Distribution Center model, which allows for a more efficient system that can (ideally) service more than one outlet. The reduction in transportation costs become direct savings to the owners, unlike product savings (that run through the production and sales process leading to a few %).
Seven-Eleven’s supply chain strategy in Japan can be described as attempting to micro-match supply and demand using rapid replenishment. What are some risks associated with this?
Micro-matching supply and demand using rapid replenishment has plenty of risk associated with it. It assumes each store will have the same demand pattern on a daily basis. If there is a sudden rush of unexpected customers and they buy up all of a single type of product it will cause difficulty for regular customers who buy that product. During such an event, the store will most likely run out of stock and customers may